1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7 NIV
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
UM PARDON ME GOD……I ASK THIS WITH ALL HONOR AND RESPECT…. LOVE IS WHAT AND WHAT AND WHAT?
You may be thinking surely God doesn’t expect us to love on THIS level…. and to that I say…Oh YES HE DOES! Now God is fully aware that it is humanly IMPOSSIBLE to love like this, which is why He sent His son to die so we could live a life with Christ’s love living inside of us. This level of love is all grown up and mature with no conditions. It is a supernatural love and again it is impossible for our natural man to operate in this kind of love on our own. We need the love of Christ.
If Jesus is living inside of us then we must be in communion with Him and walking in the Spirit to love on this level. In fact in His word concerning the fruit of the Spirit, the first mentioned fruit is love and love was definitely mentioned first for a reason. We need love first to be able to manage and walk in any of the other fruit. Everything starts with love when it comes to God. He is all about love. And when He was thinking of us He decided to send His son to show us how much He loved us.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
NO CHEATING ALLOWED. It is very easy to love the “lovable” (family, friends, favorite coworkers, church family, favorite neighbor, nice strangers), however, you will have to go higher to love the “unlovable”. And difficult people or people you feel that take more of an effort on your part to love could very well be in the same categories previously mentioned like coworkers, family, etc. Understand that our human capacity for that level of love will never reach that high.
Now I am physically what you would describe as a “short” person but I like to call myself “vertically challenged”, it just sounds better to me lol. When I am home, normally in my kitchen, I had found myself quite often needing assistance when I needed to get something out of the top cabinet or from the top of the fridge. Not even thinking about it, I either would get as far as I can on my tippy toes, or at times had to grab a chair or hop on the counter to position myself higher, or ask my husband or my son if he was around for assistance in grabbing the item I needed. The same goes with love spiritually. God’s kind of love is on the top of the cabinet and on the top part of the fridge. And our human love is short or vertically challenged and can only reach so high. The level of love we need to obtain in order to accomplish God’s plan is attainable but requires us to reach higher within through Jesus. We reach that higher level of love by praying, standing on the word of God, and activating the Holy Spirit who is our comforter and the one who leads us and guides us into all truth. We also go higher at other times through our enemies. The bible clearly instructs us not to love just love one another but to love our enemies. He allows enemies to come only to fuel us to go higher in Him. If we find ourselves not responding with God’s level of love toward our enemies, then we will find ourselves contrary to God’s word and outside of His will for us.
Although I am vertically challenged, I do believe I walk tall in the spirit as some of you reading this may as well, but there is no one tall enough that can EVER look down on another. As a matter of fact, if you truly walk tall in the Spirit, then you have the heart of God which is the heart that loves and that wants to bless, lift, and elevate others. As you are sharing Jesus’ love to others, know who is who in your life. There are some that don’t want to be bothered with you or some who are just not healthy for you to be up close and personal with sharing God’s love. And that is okay, you can still love from a distance and you are always commanded to pray for them. It doesn’t matter who or what the scenario is, it is our job to make sure we are found in the place of loving on His level.
You know how they say anyone can be a paycheck away from being broke? Well in the spirit we are all pride and any sin away from destruction or let’s call that spiritually broke. Christ died and rose with all power for everyone not just a few “elite” people. So who in the world are we to look down on someone else? God’s word says that pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall, so if I were you I would watch my step and make sure I am walking in love, HIS kind of love. Life can be complicated at times where it looks like there is no hope for some and even more critical for others who may not want live anymore. Walking tall and reaching higher for His kind of love can help bring the hope of Christ and help save someone’s life. Loving on this level can bring the freedom that someone needs. GOD IS LOVE. And His love needs YOU to love through.
Galatians 2:20-I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
2 Corinthians 5:14- For the love of Christ controls and compels us, because we have concluded this, that One died for all, therefore all died;
1 John 4:16-And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:19-20-We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
1 John 3:10-This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
PRAYER:
God your love is amazing and I honor your love today. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. Help me to walk tall in your love and your grace. I realize I CANNOT love like you love without you. God I truly desire to love on your level and I pray that you increase my capacity to be able to do this. Help me to forgive those who hurt me. Help me to love difficult people and love those who hate me. I submit to your authority and commandment to love at all costs. I will seek your assistance reaching higher within to love on this level. God I don’t want to be spiritually broke but I want to be rich in mercy as you are towards me. I pray for your kindness. Your word says that your kindness leads men to repentance. And leading men to repentance means bringing increase to your kingdom. And the larger your kingdom, the more your love and power can be spread abroad. I position myself today to allow your level of love to love through me. Amen.
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